Talking PointLet pilots keep on flying free in Hudson corridorBy Ian Dutton
On July 26, a tragic crash on the Taconic Parkway in Westchester County claimed eight lives, four of them children. The Taconic Parkway is heavily traveled and was designed in the 1920s and 30s when current traffic volumes and speeds were not imagined.

Return to Detroit: Things arent getting any betterEast Village photographer Q. Sakamaki, who was in Detroit earlier this year to document the recession and the troubled state of the auto industry, recently returned there to continue his coverage of the ongoing economic crisis.

Obituary

Rose Pascale, 92, former Community Board 2 liaisonBy Albert Amateau
Rose Pascale, the East Harlem activist and daughter of Italian immigrants who is remembered in the Village for her service four decades ago as the beloved community liaison to Community Board 2, died Aug. 14 at the age of 92.

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Villager photo by Jefferson Siegel

Susan Goren and a furry friend in Washington Square Park.

Maybe its nuts, but they call her The Squirrel WhispererBy Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke
When I was a small child, I used to walk through Prospect Park with my grandfather. I thought he was magic because the squirrels always followed him, said Susan Goren. She later learned that her grandfather had dropped nuts as they walked all along.

Neighbors go postal over threatened station closingsBy Albert Amateau
Village neighbors, postal union representatives and elected officials rallied in front of the West Village post office last week to protest the U.S. Postal Services plan to close the station in October.

Copters take flak at a hearingBy Albert Amateau
Anti-noise and air-traffic safety advocates joined elected officials at a Tuesday hearing by the City Council Transportation Committee on improving air safety following the Aug. 8 helicopter crash with a private airplane over the Hudson River in which nine people were killed.

St. Marks middle school preps students for successBy Bonnie Rosenstock
To wipe your mouth, take the napkin from your lap, dab it around your mouth, dont rub. Then lay it back down on your lap, explained Tom Gold, former New York City Ballet principal dancer, as he demonstrated the proper way to perform this sequence.

News

Grand St. bike lane is a hell on wheels, local seniors sayBy Lincoln Anderson
Charging the Grand St. bicycle lane is endangering both seniors safety and local stores and restaurants survival, Chinatown residents and merchants joined Councilmember Alan Gerson at Mott and Grand Sts. last Friday, calling for modifications to the new-style lane.

Bald Man invasion got seriously hairy; At last, hes goneBy Dottie Wilson
Ding, dong, the Bald Mans dead! At least in the East Village he is. Max Brenner, the extremely popular chocolate-themed restaurant with locations throughout the world, has recently disappeared from the busy corner of Second Ave. and E. Ninth St. Poof!

Villager Arts & LifestylesWanna buy (a book about) The Brooklyn Bridge?New book of old pictures enriches, sans coffee table
By Jerry Tallmer
On page 27 of a new book of old pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge, there is a photograph that might pull you up short, shock you and blow you away.

Last call for FringeNYCBy Scott Harrah
This provocative show, based on a true story about two days in the last years of the life of playwright Tennessee Williams, is one of the undisputed highlights of the 13th Annual New York International Fringe Festival.

Rooftop Films presents P-Star, under starry skyBy Elena Mancini
P-Star Rising is the story of a second chance that emerged from a Harlem housing shelter, a rose in concrete, as director Gabriel Noble refers to the character and talent of child rapper P-Star (on which his feature documentary is based).

Koch on FilmBy Ed KochInglourious Basterds (+)I thought this flick was based on some historical facts. It is not. Its a spoof. If you view it as such and dont get super-sensitive thinking one should be extremely careful when engaging in a spoof that involves elements of the Holocaust, you will enjoy this film.District 9 (-) This horror/sci-fi film received kudos from the critics, some giving it four stars. Ridiculous. Stay away.